Refrigerator



Nov. 24, 1936. H. L. MERRILL 2,062,138

REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 6, 1936 i /NJ/E/v To@ HAJRYL I /WERR/LL #T7-ORN Y Patented Nov. 24, 1936 UNI-TED STATES PATET OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to ice refrigerators and particularly to improvements in refrigerators of the type in which the cold air flows downwardly into the refrigerated or storage compartment through a central opening in the bottom of the refrigerant compartment,

In order to facilitate the recharging of the ice chamber, it is extremely desirable that the ice shall melt as flat as possible, and that the residual piece remaining at the time of recharging shall be so positioned as not to interfere with the placing of a new piece of ice therein.

To insure fiat melting of the ice it is desirable that the heat transfer from the warm air to the ice take place largely at or near the bottom of the ice and, in order to maintain a substantially uniform low temperature in the storage compartment irrespective of the quantity of ice in the refrigerant chamber, that a substantially constant area of ice, or of conducting metal in contact with the ice, be provided at all times for absorbing the heat from the warm air flowing in contact therewith.

Under ordinary operating conditions it is perfectly feasible so to design a refrigerator that substantially all of the heat transfer from the storage compartment to the refrigerant takes place at or near the bottom surface of the refrigerant and thus to insure that the ice, in melting, diminishes in volume largely by losses confined to its lower portion while the upper and lateral surfaces more or less retain their original, relative angular relationship at least until merely a small residual block remains.

It is practically impossible to attain at meltage with any degree of certainty where the warm air is either permitted to circulate entirely around the ice cake or where the flow is directed across the bottom of the ice from the front to the back, or Vice versa, or from one side to the other. In either case the meltage is distinctly non-uniform. The ice cake melts fastest where the warm air rst comes in contact therewith, and, if this is at one edge only of the bottom of the cake, it soon acquires a progressive tilt or list towardv this point.

I have found that by so designing my refrigerator that circulation or movement of air within the upper portion of the refrigerant chamber is inhibited, and the warm air rising from the refrigerated space is rst directed against opposite sides of the ice at or near the bottom thereof where it rests upon the rack or support, not only is iiat meltage attained but temperatures several degrees lower than have heretofore been possible can be consistently maintained in the refrigerated 56? space.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an ice refrigerator in which a cake of ice placed therein and having originally substantially the form of a rectangular prism will melt into a small, substantially flat, residual piece positioned in the 5 center of the ice rack and having its upper surface below or at least not extending substantially above the Zone occupied by the lower surface of the recharge cake when placed in said refrigerator and resting upon the ice rack therein.

Another object is to provide a combined refrigerator and ice rack design whereby meltage of the ice will take place mostly at the bottom of the cake and, while the meltage may not be absolutely uniform over the entire bottom of the cake it will V design that, in recharging, a fresh rectangular prism of ice may be placed therein over the small residual piece remaining from the preceding charge, with its top and bottom surfaces substantially horizontal, and without the necessity of moving or otherwise disturbing the residual piece.

A further object is to provide a combined refrigerator and rack whereby the same uniform low temperature may be maintained in the storage compartment with a relatively small piece of ice as with the refrigerant compartment fully charged.

With these objects in view, my invention includes the novel elements and the combinations and arrangements thereof described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my preferred form of ice rack;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross section of the upper portion of a preferred type of refrigerator showing my ice rack therein;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of a refrigerator showing a modified type of rack therein;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section of the type 45 of rack shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of a modifiedform of rack.

Referring to the drawing, I represents the casing of the refrigerator. 2 is a transverse partition 50 extending from the frontv to the back of the ice box and substantially across the interior thereof from side to side, although spaces or ducts 3 are left between the ends of the partition and the adjacent interior sides of the refrigerator to permit I the upward flow of warm air therethrough. The central portion of the partition 2 is provided with an opening It for the downward flow of cold air into the storage compartment. The top and bottom surfaces 3 and l5 of this partition are preferably metal and the intermediate portion 'I is of insulating material. Preferably, instead of being horizontal, the partition is slightly inclined upwardly from the center towards the sides, as shown ath in Fig. 4. This slope not only serves to direct the iow of warm air in the upper portion of the ice box toward the lateral warm air passages but also facilitates the downward flow of the cold air across the bottom of the refrigerant compartment toward the central cold air passage.

Supported on the bottom of the refrigerant compartment is the ice rack, represented generally by the numeral 8. This comprises comparatively stiff metal strips 9 presenting flat upper surfaces I@ extending substantially across the refrigerant compartment, from side to side, and having portions near the ends thereof bent downwardly as shown at I I to form supports'adapted to rest on the top of the partition 2. Welded or. otherwise secured to these strips are sheet metal plates forming the ice supporting surfaces proper which, it will be observed, are substantially smooth, plane surfaces, one of which I2 is centrally disposed and positioned above cold air opening 4 while the other two I3 and i4 are at either side thereof. The surfaces I3 and I4 are inclined downwardly from the sides of the refrigerant' compartment toward the central ice supporting surface I2, and the horizontal and inclined ice supporting surfaces are separated to provide openings I'I and I8 therebetween. These openings eX- tend from the front to the back of the refrigerator and permit the air underrlowing the rack directly to contact the ice. If desired, openings may also be provided in the inclined surfaces themselves, as shown at 42. In order to prevent moisture which condenses on the bottom of the horizontal surface I2 from dropping into the food compartment through the cold air opening 4 a drip or deflector plate I3, curved as shown, is secured to the members 9 beneath the ice supporting surface I2. The lower edges of this plate extend beyond the edges of the opening il so that any moisture thereon will ow downwardly and drip from the edges onto the top of the partition 2; it being understood that the partition 2 is sloped backwardly towards a drain 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noted that the inclined ice supporting surfaces I3 and I4 are offset somewhat from the interior sides of the refrigerator to provide open spaces 2I and 22 therebetween for the down flow of chilled air.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the passages 3 at either side of the transverse parti-y tion 2 extend upwardly to about the level of the bottom edges of the ice resting on rack 8 where side openings i5 and I6 are provided through which the warm air flows laterally directly against the bottom edges of the ice. The inner walls 40 and 4I of these passages are heat insulated and the passages are blocked just above the openings l5 and I6 to deflect the air flow therethrough.

By thus bringing the warm air into contact with the ice substantially at the points where it is supported on the rack the meltage rate at these points is made comparatively high with the result that the ice settles slowly and evenly on the rack.

The warm air issuing from the ducts, instead of rising in the ice chamber and contacting the aocaiss upper portion of the ice, is chilled at once by its Contact with the lower sides of the ice and flows downwardly through the spaces 2| and 22 and around thel bottom of the ice rack where it is further chilled to flow downwardly through the passage II into the storage compartment.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown a slightly modified forms of ice rack although it embodies in general all of the features of the rack'- shown in Figs;

l and 2. I-Iere, the supports for the rack comprise fairly stiff metal strips 23 positioned at the front and back and which are bent to provide the legs 24 andl 25 which rest upon the partition 2; it being understood that the partition 2 is identical with the partition 2 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Secured to the strips `23 by welding or otherwise is a flat, centrally disposed ice supporting surface 23 in all respects identical with the surface I2 shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Beneath this surface is a drip plate 21 curved similarly to the drip plate I9 and having its lower edges extending somewhat beyond the cold air opening 4.

'Ihe lateral ice supporting surfaces 28 and 29 are substantially plane and are inclined downwardly toward the central ice supporting surface 23, and spaces 3E and 3| extending from the front to the back of the ice box are left between the central and the lateral ice supporting surfaces.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4 these inclined ice supporting surfaces, instead of being spaced somewhat from the interior sides of the ice compartment abut the sides, as best` shown at 32 in Fig. ll, so as definitely to cut olf at this point the upward flow of warm air rising through the passages 3. Beneath the surfaces 28 and 29 and secured to the supports 23 are drip pans 33 and 34 adapted to receive not only the water from the melting ice falling directlythrough the openings 3S and 3| but also to receive any condensation formed on the lower sides L of the surfaces 28 and 29 and on the drip plate 2?. sloped rearwardly to an appropriate drain.

As is the case in the embodiment of my invention described above, the warm air from the storage compartment first delivers its heat to the ice at the eXtreme edges of the ice mass where it rests on the rack. Here, however, the heat transfer takes place through the thin metal of the rack instead of directly from the air to the ice. Air circulation about the upper portion of the ice mass is substantially prevented and ice meltage takes place entirely at the bottom.

In operation, assuming the ice compartment to be fully charged (that is with a fresh cake and a small residual piece as shown by the dotted lines of Fig. 2), the openings I I and I8 in the type of rack shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the openings 33 and 3| in the type of rack shown in Figs. 3 `and 4, will be substantially covered with ice and the fresh cake of ice will be initially supported only at the points 31 and 38 with its bottom in the plane of the line 39. When the ice has melted slightly at the points of support, the central bottom portion of the fresh ice will be lowered and the openings I'I and I8 or 30 and 3|, as the case may be, will be entirely closed by the new cake as the residual piece melts away.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the warm air cannot ascend above the ice rack and will always be directed across the bottom of the ice or the heat conducting supports upon which the ice rests. In other words, the meltage of the ice takes place substantially entirely from the bottom until finally, when the ice is very It is understood that the plates 33 and 34 are fiat, it will begin to melt in from the edges so that finally it will assume about the shape shown by the dotted lines 35 in Fig. 4.

Even with a small piece of ice substantially the size shown at 35 or 36 it is possible to maintain low temperatures in the storage compartment because substantially as much area of the ice in this condition or of conducting surfaces in contact therewith is exposed to the warm air as would be the case with a larger piece of ice. Furthermore, it will be quite apparent that with the residual piece of ice centrally located and substantially flat and thin, as shown in the drawing, re-icing of the refrigerator is very readily accomplished merely by placing the new piece over the residual piece where it will be supported on the high portions of the rack at either side.

By directing the iiow of warm air across the bottom of the ice from both sides toward the center, a more equal ice meltage across the entire bottom is obtained than is the case where the warm air ente-rs only at the front, the back, or at one side. This feature combined with the inclined lateral ice supporting surfaces which not only permit the melting ice naturally to adjust itself to a position centrally of the ice compartment but also permit the refrigerator to be charged with a fresh prism of ice initially supported at the ends only and over the residual piece from the previous charge, will be recognized as important features of my invention.

While I have described my invention in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which I have used are words of description rather than of limitation. Hence, changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made Without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is:

1. An ice refrigerator comprising a cabinet, a transverse partition subdividing said cabinet into an ice compartment above and a storage compartment below and provided with a central opening therein for the down flow of cold air from the ice compartment to the storage compartment, an ice support comprising two, opposite, side elements having upper surfaces downwardly inclined toward said central opening, and a central element extending across said opening and spaced from said side elements to provide openings through which substantial areas of ice on said support will be exposed; said elements cooperating with said partition to form air passages therebetween communicating with said central opening and with said ice compartment at the sides thereof and also through the openings between said central and side elements; means for conducting warm air upwardly from said storage compartment in separate streams at opposite sides of said compartment and discharging said streams directly against opposite sides of a body of ice on said support and in zones just above the zones of communication of said air passages with said ice compartment at the sides; whereby to effect a relatively rapid melting of the opposite, lower side portions of said ice body adjacent said support, a progressive settling of said body on said support, and a downward flow of said air streams into said passages due to the increase in density of the air by reason of its contact with the ice.

2. An ice refrigerator comprising a cabinet, a transverse partition subdividing said cabinet into an ice compartment above and a storage compartment below and provided with a central opening therein for the down flow of cold air from the ice compartment to the storage compartment, an ice support comprising two, opposite, substantially plane, side elements having upper surfaces downwardly inclined toward said central opening and a substantially plane central element extending across said opening and spaced from said side elements to provide openings through which substantial areas of ice on said support will be exposed; said elements cooperating with said partition to form air passages therebetween communicating with said central opening and with said ice compartment at the sides thereof and also through the openings between said central and side elements; means for conducting warm air upwardly from said storage compartment in separate streams at opposite sides of said l compartment and discharging said streams directly against opposite sides of a body of ice on said support and in zones just above the zones of communication of said air passages with said ice compartment at the sides; whereby to effect a relatively rapid melting of the opposite, lower side portions of said ice body adjacent said support, a progressive settling of said body on said support, and a downward flow of said air streams into said passages due to the increase in density of the air by reason of its contact with the ice.

HARRY L. MERRILL. 

